best slr for astro photography

[roscoe]

this is probably one of those things that are asked over again.well ,here goes..

what is best slr to go fro. im interested in canon d7 for general use and quality,but is it good for astro stuff.

any suggestions much appreciated.

also i have lx 200 8 inch,how do i attach or make use of this with camera. thanks

[rowan46]

To attatch a dslr to a scope you will need a t-ring and t-mount adaptor, a remote shutter release may also be an idea

[angusb1]

The best slr is going to be one with the filter removed to pass more Ha. So the Canon 1000d is very popular as it is fairly cheap, works well at high iso, has liveview, can be controlled completely from a PC, and can be easily modified (relative to some other DSLRs). Another advantage of its low price is that if you mod it yourself to remove the filter and you break it you have lost £200ish not £700ish. There is no getting around the fact that a modded full frame DSLR offers a huge chip area. To get the same from a CCD is very expensive indeed.

[Kane]

How about picking up a cheapo film slr and taking your first steps in imaging using that - no filters to remove and you should be able to pick up a T mount pretty easily - pros would be primarily cost while cons are delays in getting film processed, availability of suitable film, inability to manipulate the photo in a PC image package .....

[Rob]

How will a non modded 1000D be?.. I'm looking right now and considering a 300D from ebay and buy that with my (birthday) money. or take the offer from my wife and purchase a 1000d new from argos, put my £130 in and the rest funded by the family budget (hence not a 100% mine and no mod to be carried out)

Which way to go???.. I'm just not sure. So thought this thread my help me also

Thanks to roscoe for starting the thread

[angusb1]

Non modded DSLRs are capable of excellent results. Modifying the camera only improves its sensitivity to Ha. Non-modified cameras are also better for daytime work.

[angusb1]

How about picking up a cheapo film slr and taking your first steps in imaging using that - no filters to remove and you should be able to pick up a T mount pretty easily - pros would be primarily cost while cons are delays in getting film processed, availability of suitable film, inability to manipulate the photo in a PC image package .....

You also want to bear in mind that focusing with a film camera is going to be way less straightforward than with a DSLR. That said, film cameras are capable of providing excellent results. The ease of use of a DSLR is probably why you see virtually no-one using film for astrophotography these days.

[milkyjoe]

Get the Canon 1000d body first, that way you can get started with astro photoraphy pretty quickly. I did just that, but because I want to use my for daytime use as well, I picked up kit lens from this forum quite cheaply as I believe the kit lens(es) currently supplied with the 1000d from shops are rubbish (someone correct me if I'm wrong?).

If you have been watching Stargazing Live that has just finished on BBC 2 (can watch online on the iplayer), one of the experts shows you how you can take pics using a tripod and an SLR, but you would obviously need a lens; I'm going to get the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 lens, which is supposed to be very good in low light.

Hope that helps, and let us know what you get.

Richard.

P.S. You can watch SL here... www.bbc.co.uk/stargazing/ ;-)

[swag72]

I don't think that the 300D that you are looking at on the bay has live view. For me, as a newbie to all of this, I would be wanting live view as it makes the whole focusing thing just that bit easier. I don't have the 1000D, but have read good stuff about it on here and other forums as an astro camera. As said, if you don't mod it, then it makes a good camera too.

[Kane]

You also want to bear in mind that focusing with a film camera is going to be way less straightforward than with a DSLR. That said, film cameras are capable of providing excellent results. The ease of use of a DSLR is probably why you see virtually no-one using film for astrophotography these days.

True but my ulterior motive is the Pentax MX sitting unused in the cupboard lol

[Psychobilly]

The unmodded 1000D will perform much better than an unmodded 300D...

Billy...

[Froobyone]

Hi,

I had a 300D up until christmas. It doesn't have live view and the screen at the back is very small for looking at your pics. I never managed to get it focused with a scope.

I now use a 60D, which is awsome in every way I can measure. Live view with zoom. In camera noise reduction, high ISO, 18MP and takes awsome daytime pics too.

Obviously if you're trying to keep the budget manageable, it might be something for the future.

All in all, I hear good things about the 1000D.

Hope you get sorted

Frooby

[angusb1]

True but my ulterior motive is the Pentax MX sitting unused in the cupboard lol

Go for it!

[Suzpaz]

The best slr is going to be one with the filter removed to pass more Ha. So the Canon 1000d is very popular as it is fairly cheap, works well at high iso, has liveview, can be controlled completely from a PC, and can be easily modified (relative to some other DSLRs). Another advantage of its low price is that if you mod it yourself to remove the filter and you break it you have lost £200ish not £700ish. There is no getting around the fact that a modded full frame DSLR offers a huge chip area. To get the same from a CCD is very expensive indeed.

Those features you just listed, are they on the EOS 5D as well?

[Rob]

Any thoughts on a 50D also (had an offer of one today)

Cheers

[angusb1]

Those features you just listed, are they on the EOS 5D as well?

There is a good comparison of astrophotography features on DSLRs here.

The 5D MK1 can definately be modified - see this site.

[Rob]

That links not working.. sorry

[russ]

Not had a play with the 50D but if it follows the trend of the 10D, 20D & 30D, it will be a heavy lump compared to the budget models.

[jgs001]

And I think the 7d is even heavier than the 50d. The 50d has a magnesium shell, whilst the consumer models are polycarbonate... the 60d is also polycarb so might well be lighter than the 50d, but it's also bigger than the consumer models, so will be heavier. My 450d is unmodded, and I've posted plenty of examples where I've captured the IR emissions (wouldn't say it was as easy as using a modded cam, but it can be done).

[russ]

And I think the 7d is even heavier than the 50d. The 50d has a magnesium shell, whilst the consumer models are polycarbonate... the 60d is also polycarb so might well be lighter than the 50d, but it's also bigger than the consumer models, so will be heavier. My 450d is unmodded, and I've posted plenty of examples where I've captured the IR emissions (wouldn't say it was as easy as using a modded cam, but it can be done).

crikey that 7D will be a lot of weight on the focuser

[angusb1]

Not had a play with the 50D but if it follows the trend of the 10D, 20D & 30D, it will be a heavy lump compared to the budget models.

50D weighs 820g

60D weighs 675g

1000D weighs 450g

5D MK1 weighs 810g

These weights are for a body only, batteries are roughly 80gm or so.

[russ]

So the 50D is one heavy lump, almost double the 1000D.

[Rob]

My god!!..thats heavy

[saturn5]

I don't think that the 300D that you are looking at on the bay has live view. For me, as a newbie to all of this, I would be wanting live view as it makes the whole focusing thing just that bit easier. I don't have the 1000D, but have read good stuff about it on here and other forums as an astro camera. As said, if you don't mod it, then it makes a good camera too.

You can focus on a bright star by using the viewfinder,i never ever use live view.Its quite easy to see the star getting smaller and tighter as you reach the focus point.Go past it and the star starts to get fatter again so you just move the focus back and forth until you get the nice small tight star,just the same as you would using live view.It realy is easy, couple of practice goes and you'll soon get the hang of it.

[Fija]

I find AstroPhotography tool really handy for focusing and I save the images straight to PC so my 2GB card doesn't get swamped and adding prefix names to the images also helps me remember what I am shooting. Ivo has done a great job with APT 1:1 (scroll) image view is great for checking focus.

I'm looking for a 550D next as the 600D has just come out with pretty much the same features as the 550D and the extra size and weight of the 600D just for what basicly amounts to a swivel screen isn't worth it. So the 550 should come down in price a bit.

I haven't caught aparature fever with my scope but like the idea of 18mp sensor although scared of more stacking woes. I have enough of them stacking 8mp images.

Fija